Briar Cliff senior Julian Gunnels won the 133-pound title at the 2008 Simpson Invitational, in Indianola, Iowa. Gunnels went 5-0, defeating the tournament's No. 1 and No. 5 seeds on his way to the title. Gunnels defeated Wartburg's Matt Kelly, a junior who is ranked second in the nation (NCAA Div. III) at 133. Gunnels remains undefeated on the season with an 11-0 record. Freshman Sammy Johnson was the only other Charger to place, finishing eighth at 165. As a team, the Chargers finished 11th. (
RESULTS)
Gunnels opened the competition with a 10-4 decision over William Penn's Matt Hicks. He then pinned Buena Vista's Nick Marcus (2:15) and registered an 11-0 major decision over fifth seeded Nick Coffman of Grand View. After defeating Kelly in the semifinals, the fourth-seeded Gunnels defeated Sean White of Wartburg, 14-7, in the championship match. Complete BCU results:
133: Dixon (2-2)
133: Gunnels (5-0)
141: Hargrave (0-2)
141: Mullins (0-2)
149: Taylor (2-2)
157: Aughton (0-2)
157: Garvin (1-2)
165: Johnson (3-2)
184: Westbrook (0-2)
285: Jay Casey (0-2)
285: Adnan Kasapovic (1-2)